Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Thirsty Conversations: Should Lara Croft Be Raped?

Thirsty Conversations: Should Lara Croft Be Raped?

Posted by: Ernice Gilbert June 13, 2012 in News, PC, PS3, Square-Enix 15 Comments

A massive controversy concerning an apparent rape scene in the upcoming Tomb Raider game being developed by Crystal Dynamics has blown up all over the internet today, as many gamers do not like the new, more flimsy and vulnerable Lara Croft, and have been pushing back fiercely. It’s gotten so bad that Crystal Dynamics are going back on their original quote because of the controversy.

The game’s executive producer Ron Rosenberg told Kotaku that “when people play Lara, they don’t really project themselves into the character, they’re more like ‘I want to protect her.’ There’s this sort of dynamic of ‘I’m going to this adventure with her and trying to protect her.’”

When asked if Lara was still a hero, Rosenberg replied: “She’s definitely the hero but— you’re kind of like her helper. When you see her have to face these challenges, you start to root for her in a way that you might not root for a male character.”

“The ability to see her as a human is even more enticing to me than the more sexualized version of yesteryear,” he said. “She literally goes from zero to hero… we’re sort of building her up and just when she gets confident, we break her down again,” he said.

Then came the ‘rape’ scene quote that Crystal Dynamics is now disowning:

RON: “And then what happens is her best friend gets kidnapped, she gets taken prisoner by scavengers on the island. They try to rape her, and-”

KOTAKU: “They try to rape her?”

RON: “She’s literally turned into a cornered animal. And that’s a huge step in her evolution: she’s either forced to fight back or die and that’s what we’re showing today.”

Video Thirst: Rape Scene Clip – Watch From 2:23

Here’s the question, then: Should Lara Croft be be raped?

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About Ernice Gilbert

Ernice Gilbert here. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Gamesthirst. Thanks for stopping by, make yourself at home!
  • Ghost250

    Should Lara Croft be be raped?

    Yes and hard by Nathan Drake

  • http://www.gamesthirst.com Ernice Gilbert

    :D

  • http://www.gamesthirst.com Ernice Gilbert

    What a way to start out a TC thread. LOL

  • Ghost250

    lol

  • http://www.gamesthirst.com Ernice Gilbert

    But I believe if the narrative calls for, and it’s well put, then yes. As long as it’s not some ill-placed rape scene that isn’t in sync with the overall plot.

    ————————–

    Sometimes developers do these things for shock value to garner momentum. Let’s hope this isn’t the case.

  • Ghost250

    for me i have to agree with you, just as long as its adds to the overall experience of the story. i wouldn’t want a rape scene just thrown in there for the heck of it like you said for shock value

  • http://www.gamesthirst.com Ernice Gilbert

    Yeah, but having Lara so vulnerable runs the risk of damaging her “tough girl” image, don’t you think? I think so. CD must be VERY careful.

  • Ghost250

    maybe its time for a change i guess since they are rebooting the series afterall

  • Joshua Tompkins

    I don’t think it changers her character. In this game, she starts off capable, but vulnerable. Remember, this game is the story that suppose to explain how she becomes the Lara we know. Honestly, it could work either way. She could show how strong she is by not letting a bigger, stronger person rape her by either killing them or beating them up. Then it could go the other way and show how strong she is because she overcame being raped and getting revenge on the people that did it to her.

  • nick

    of course not!
    this is one of the things thats wrong with the media today, they take everything and blow it WAY out of proportion!
    shes not raped, since when is grabbing someone and trying to kiss them raping them?
    seriously!?
    there trying to portray the vulnerability of lara, so of course this should be in there!
    everything they have shown has been showing lara before she became the warrior, thats the whole point of the game it IS A PREQUEL!
    its character design done right!
    they started off showing the cave demo at E3 last year where she has to use her wits to escape the cave, than piss bolt when shes chased by her attackers.
    than this year they carried on with that vulnerable tone.
    and if you watch the demo from M$s presser it shows you something later in the game where she has had her fair share of tangos, and is a little more aggressive.
    exactly why the game is so impressive, for once developers are actually showing you the effect the game has on the character and the development of them.
    lara starts off as a scared girl in the middle of no where, and ends off as a hardened pissed off out for revenge!
    exactly how it should be!
    exact reason why IGN gave it game of show!

  • http://www.gamesthirst.com Ernice Gilbert

    We shall see, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, it looks amazing! And I’ll surely get it, but let’s hope they’ve struck the right balance.

  • nick

    there not doing it for the sake of doing it!
    whole point of this game is to show how lara became the legend we know and love!
    to become hardened like her you need to be dragged through the mud and face your fair share of scuffles!
    this things been blown WAY out of proportion as usual!
    as i said since when is grabbing someone and trying to kiss them rape?
    honestly, heavy rain had more of a rape scene than this and no one said boo about that!
    gotta love how selective this industry has become!
    its ok for one to do it, but if anyone else does they better run!

  • rpatricky

    I’m with Ghost, on his first comment, but instead of Natahn Drake it’s me and instead of rape, it’s a nice dinner at the BK Lounge followed by a road tugger on our way to Wal-Mart for desert.
    Yeah. I went there.

  • http://www.gamesthirst.com Ernice Gilbert

    SMH. LOL

  • http://www.gamesthirst.com Ernice Gilbert

    I’d much rather Chloe…

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